Colloquial Language and Identity

Résumé fourni par la source

This exploratory theoretical framework focuses on the marginal presence of informal language in the L2 curriculum and advocates its inclusion via translation tasks to develop student agency and sociolinguistic competence. It also aims to facilitate the development of learners’ L2 identity, as the ability to alternate between various styles and registers (including informal registers) can be a means to demonstrate in-group membership (Regan, 1996, 2010). Classroom-based learners often overuse formal registers, which may hinder them in day-to-day interactions with native speakers (Mougeon et al., 2010) and affect their agency and self-confidence if they feel the language they use is inappropriate. Translation shifts the focus onto the decisions behind the selection of certain pragmalinguistic or sociolinguistic variants over others, and the resulting impact on the style and message of the text. When tasked with establishing equivalence, the learners interact with the indexical nature of language, thus enhancing their understanding of the social and symbolic meaning of sociolinguistic variation. This investigation therefore lies at the intersection of learner agency and the use of informal language in the L2, the role of translation in L2 teaching as a tool to introduce informal language, and the relationship between sociolinguistic competence and identity in the L2.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.